Redefining masculinity the BTS way

COMMENT

In an age where constructions of masculinity are stifling and destructive, Asian musicians are breaking barriers and redefining what it means to be “manly”. The K-pop group Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) in particular is reimagining masculinity – and it’s about way more than how they dress. Their growing popularity means that they are creating new standards of how to be a man, write SHAAZIA EBRAHIM and FATIMA MOOSA.

Toxic masculinity is built on machismo and defines a real man as someone who is tough, controlled, dominant, unemotional, “rational”, sex-obsessed and entitled to respect. Masculinity is also framed as the opposite of anything deemed feminine or queer – and being cast as queer or feminine is considered insulting to those who have internalised this view of masculinity.

Asian masculinity has long been fabricated as lesser than other cultural constructions of masculinity – to the fury of many Asian mentoday. Reddit communities like Asian Masculinity bely the anger of Asian men who suffer prejudice from the feminisation – and thus “emasculation” of Asian men by Western standards.

Actor Eddie Huang, whose memoir was turned into the ABC sitcom Fresh Off The Boat, wrote in the New York Times of the singularity of the Asian-American man’s identity in dominant culture: “We count good, we bow well, we are technologically proficient, we’re naturally subordinate, our male anatomy is the size of a thumb drive and we could never in a thousand millenniums be a threat to steal your girl.” The so-called emasculation of Asian-American men traces back to the 19th century when Asian male immigrants in America were classified as feminine by their white counterparts. In a journal about the feminisation of Asian-American men, Asian men are defined as “human oddities in the mind of whites.” Asian men cut shorter and slimmer figures and wore silk tunics, and they were considered novel and feminine by white men. And this tells a universal story of the feminisation of Asian men in pop culture – and in ideas about masculinity.

But Asian musicians are changing the game. The remarkable thing about them is not only do they embrace Asian masculinity, they also subvert Western notions of toxic masculinity. Asian musicians switch seamlessly between what is considered feminine and what is considered masculine in a way that is thrilling – and liberating. Their tremendous global platform provides them with a means of creating a new norm for masculinity, one that more organic and experimental.

BTS have redefined masculinity in many ways and the most obvious is how they present themselves physically. Being stylish and expressing the self through fashion is considered feminine. But the members all dress in clothing that eschews traditional hard lines of suits or baggy and shapeless jeans and sweaters favoured by hip hop artists for fashion silhouettes that are decidedly feminine. The group is not averse to pastel colours, bright prints, glitter, sequins, flowy cuts – and accessorising with earrings, rings and chokers.

The group always presents themselves with a full face of makeup in a doll-like perfection – be it flawless skin, a sweeping highlight or kohl-lined eyes. BTS has skin care regimes which would put most of us to shame. The members also change up their hair often have had every hair colour from slate gray to bright red and bubblegum blue. This is revolutionary to Western society which largely deems taking care of one’s appearance as feminine.

BTS did regrettably go through a phase during their debut where they espoused toxic masculinity constructions. In songs like War of Hormone, Boy in Luv and Danger, they objectify the women at the centre of the song with lyrics like “Girls are like an equation, us guys just do them (yup). Wear them more, your high heels.” However, the two senior songwriters of the group, RM and Suga responded to these criticisms, saying they now consult feminist lecturers for their lyrics. Growth, I tell you.

BTS’s aesthetic is not the only reason why they have managed to transform ideas about masculinity. They have no qualms about adhering to toxic masculinity constructions about men not being allowed to cry, share their feelings and show emotions. They cry, they share their feelings all without making it seem like a big deal. There has not been a single award show where the group has won an award where they have not cried, tears running down their faces clearly showing how much it means to them.

There are countless videos on YouTube and V-Live (a streaming app from Korea) where the group sit together and talk about their hopes, dreams and anxieties. In one of the series the group did called Bon Voyage where they went on holiday to Hawaii, they wrote letters to each other about how much the other member meant to them, freely sharing their emotions.

Another side to BTS is that they talk about mental health issues. Traditional Korean society is built on Confucian and Buddhists values about diligence and stoicism, according to a Berkeley research paper. While this does not directly affect conversations around mental health, the paper says it has created a cultural stigma around the issue. The BTS members especially Suga, often talk about their struggles with mental health issues.

Suga has released an entire mixtape released under the name Agust D, where he documents his struggles with depression, social phobia and OCD. The group also have written several songs where they talk about societal pressures from parents, teachers and others to be the best. Not just for subverting masculinity but BTS manages to redefine the way the youth are expected to act in society.

As a Daily Dot article notes, “K-pop is not a healing balm for all the things wrong with the masculinity construct… These idols celebrate who they are with people who love them—and gender roles are forgotten. We’re all simply there together, exuberantly learning who we are.” And it is important for everyone to be able to express their authentic selves in a way that doesn’t tie them down to arbitrary gender roles.

Men should be able to be beautiful, desirable and stylish if they want to be. Men should be allowed to express their authenticity whether that means wearing sequins and highlighter or a baggy pants and a beard. Men should be allowed to cry, and show their feelings and speak about issues of mental health. People should be allowed to embrace who they are beyond the confines of arbitrary gender roles.

And perhaps that is what the growing influence of Asian musicians globally has orchestrated: Asian men can now embrace their identities in all its complexities and allow themselves to be their own authentic selveswithout feeling emasculated.

Finally! An article worth reading about BTS!
I love how well-researched this is and how it discussed BTS’s influence in a bigger picture like breaking stereotypes, loving oneself, and more.
Thank you for this article
Don’t tell me the author is also an Army? Haha

I am Korean.
I honestly know the intent of these articles. I am sick of this article.
The conclusion is that Asian men are not men than Western men. Is not this your conclusion?
But Korean singers are just decorated by Cody or a makeup artist.
What about Korean men with only one Kpop singer? What about Asian men? This evaluation is really stupid

The West seems to be conservative, narrow, and strict about justice for men.
Their fashion is also limited. Define what clothes you wear that are unmanly.
In Korea, men are obliged to go to the military, and much emphasis is placed on maleness.
In Korea, men are obliged to go to the military and emphasize manhood.
However, Korea and Asia seem to be more open to men than men in fashion or in many ways

This is written from a very western pov of maleness. I doubt the members of BTS would consider themselves to be breaking down gender barriers either. It’s part of the kpop idol industry to look perfect at all times, hence why they wear makeup and wear flashy outfits (often outfits created by a stylist they wouldn’t have much input in). This article reeks of orientalism and adds to the emasculation and dehumanisation of Asian men by framing what they would consider as normal activities and as part of their job as a ‘revolutionary’ take on gender, thus supposing that it is universally framed as abnormal to do things like care for your skin if you’re male. Actually, this is only abnormal in the west. You’d be be better off writing an article about why westerners are so racist and constantly other Asian men than you would writing an article about why a Kpop group are revolutionary for doing things Kpop groups and other Asian entertainers have been doing for years.

Also it’s amusing that there’s no mention of the toxic masculinity and misogyny prevalent in Asian cultures. It’s especially funny to see westerners think that because Korean men have nice skin that they are nationally more effeminate and less toxic than Western males are, like there aren’t Korean expectations of masculinity men have to reach (serving your family, your country, etc). A better take would be to stop framing things like emotions etc as part of the masculine/feminine binary in the first place.

Such an interesting article…BTS is much more than a idol group anymore, they are role models to young people everywhere…we are quiet proud of them for using their global influence -the right way by way of their music or their UNICEF project…Kudos Boys…

Thank you.You exposed all the prejudices of our society when it comes to men.My favourite line was “This is revolutionary to Western society which largely deems taking care of one’s appearance as feminine.”

Wow! This is such a well researched and informative article esp for new people who are getting to know BTS. They give out such a great message with their music and from just being themselves. It’s true, we forget about the gender roles and just enjoy their music and learn about ourselves.
I hope people can appreciate BTS and their hardwork and realise living life is beyond gender roles. It’s celebrating who you really are and accepting others as they are. Thanks for the article though!

Personally, I think a better angle to approach this topic from is how Bts and kpop becoming big in America is affecting beauty standards here. Saying that Bts are intentionally breaking gender boundaries is misleading, what they’re doing isn’t revolutionary in Asia or kpop. A better way to frame this would be to celebrate how kpop’s increaseing global popularity is affecting male beauty standards in the West. One of the things I hear most often from fans of male kpop groups is that their standard of beauty shifted dramatically. “Before I got into Bts I liked rugged, manly men but now I’m more attracted to guys who care about their appearance” is something I often hear paraphrased by fans. For example, there’s a decent portion of Bts fans who are former Western boy band fans (like Directioners), and I often hear them lament that they’ve been “ruined” by Bts because they now can’t help but find most of their old favorites sloppy and unkempt looking in comparison. Its less about intentional genderbending and more about culture clash and the effect its having on Western male beauty standards.

This is true. Musculinity is not about the size of your muscles or the number of pack of abs. Some men who consider themselves musculine ridicule those who do not have the same physic as they do. But watching BTS, I have never seen men wearing make up or donning pink look more musculine than them. I find them more musculine than the standard male with a pack of muscles. Musculinity is how you express without having to go through the physical motions. Wearing make up confidently without being threatened of your sex. Because men who does this things are assured of their own sexuality.

What a thought provoking article. One of the reasons I fell in love with BTS two months ago is because of how confident they are in their masculinity being such as you state here. What also strikes me is their obvious physical affection with each other. I think it would be very healing if not only western men but also western women could be as freely loving and unselfconsciously physical with each other as they are.

I think in many of the comments here are doing a salad with the article. Yes, BTS are not doing anything that other kpop group aren’t doing right now or that weren’t doing in the past. Now, how many of them do you know??
They are changing the view of masculinity FOR US, western people, because they are popular in western now, no OTHER groups.
The argument “others did that before” is ridiculous, because nobody knows “others” and don’t care either. It’s BTS the one that drives the change for the fans who follows them.
I read a really funny comment that says “I’m Korean and you try to says that Korean aren’t men”. English is not my first language either, but even I could understand that is not what is written in the article.
Is true that Korean society isn’t perfect, no one is. And is true that they need to change things like the rest of the world, but still we can admire and respect the the good things too.
I think is great what BTS are doing in their fans, like myself, opening minds for new concepts, new points of view.
Thank you for the article, It was done conscientiously and just with that i’m satisfied but i liked too. Thank you very much.

There are some problems in the article in my opinion. First, the photo of Jin in the pink outfit really isn’t proof of anything. That’s an outfit they were all made to wear on stage, and I highly doubt most of them would have chosen it. It would have been better to include a photo of them wearing pink on their own time/when they’ve chosen the clothes themselves. Also, they wear makeup because they have to. In their downtime, they don’t. Also, claiming that their past lyrics were objectifying towards women is also a stretch. There was one use of one strong word in BIL that has multiple connotations, but that’s really it. Finally, Yoongi did not talk about having OCD in his mixtape. It’s a mistranslation. He talks about having compulsions, but not OCD the disease.